Nikolai Okhlopkov
Biography
Nikolai Okhlopkov was a renowned Soviet and Russian actor and theatre director born in Irkutsk, Siberia in 1900. He pioneered unconventional staging techniques, including placing spectators on stage to restore intimacy between audience and actors, which he first implemented at the Realistic Theatre in Moscow from 1930. Okhlopkov's work earned him numerous awards, including six Stalin Prizes, before his death in Moscow in 1967.